Zacks Research Expects Weaker Earnings for Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for Acadia Healthcare in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $0.49 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.66. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Acadia Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $3.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Acadia Healthcare’s FY2026 earnings at $1.48 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $1.55 EPS.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $800.10 million. Acadia Healthcare had a negative net margin of 33.29% and a positive return on equity of 6.53%. Acadia Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Acadia Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.550 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.300 EPS.

ACHC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Acadia Healthcare from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $17.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Acadia Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $21.50 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.15.

Acadia Healthcare Price Performance

ACHC stock opened at $24.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of -1.98, a P/E/G ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.74. Acadia Healthcare has a 12 month low of $11.43 and a 12 month high of $31.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acadia Healthcare

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 54.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 43,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 74,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 2.8% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 31,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Acadia Healthcare by 2.1% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter.

Key Acadia Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting Acadia Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acadia named Daniel Cancelmi to its board, a routine corporate-governance move that can be seen as a small positive for investor confidence around management and oversight. Acadia Healthcare Appoints Daniel Cancelmi to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the recent filings appear unreliable or contain errors (showing 0 shares and NaN changes); there’s no clear evidence from these data of rising short pressure driving the move. Monitor for corrected filings if short-seller activity is a concern.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cuts from Zacks Research: the firm sharply trimmed EPS estimates across multiple quarters and fiscal years (Q1–Q4 2026 estimates and multiple 2027 quarters, plus FY2026/FY2027 reductions). Zacks now forecasts FY2026 EPS ~ $1.48 and FY2027 EPS ~ $1.55 (well below the street consensus cited at $3.38), and cut near-term quarterly forecasts (e.g., Q2 2026 to $0.49). Those widespread downgrades and a maintained “Hold” rating put clear downside pressure by lowering near-term earnings expectations and increasing uncertainty about earnings recovery.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHC) is a publicly traded provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. Founded in 2005, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish itself as a leading specialist in mental health and addiction treatment across the United States.

Acadia operates a diversified network of inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and intensive outpatient programs.